PICC Line Care

markatger
markatger Member Posts: 314
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi,

I finally got started on chemo for Stage IV CRC with 2 Liver mets on Mar 17th. I'm getting 5-FU, Oxaplatin, Leucovorin and Avastin. I got a PICC Line put in on that day. It was bleeding some so I have had 4 dressing changes already in two weeks instead of the usual one a week. I'm getting some hives around the bandage from something. And also very red and lost a little skin where the tape is on the bandage. I'm a little worried about having this dressing change done everyweek for a couple months and having my skin get just chewed to heck.
Anyone have a suggestions for PICC line care. I'm thinking about asking the nurses to possibly use mineral oil or alcohol to remove the tape instead of just yanking it off.

Maria

Comments

  • gabor
    gabor Member Posts: 25 Member
    #2
    Hi Maria,
    So sorry to hear about the irritation with your PICC Line. My husband had an alergic reaction to the dressings used for his PICC line. I'm assuming your PICC line is in your arm with the lumen(s) on the outside of the arm. There are different brands of dressings so ask the nurse to try another brand. Also, the nurse should be making suggestion on what you can do for the rash such as applying an antihistimine cream around the bandage. If you are not satisified with how the nurse is managing your PICC line, contact the home infusion agency and let them know. I don't know your circumstances but a port might be another option if this doesn't work out for you. Hang in there Maria and I'll keep you in my prayers.
  • markatger
    markatger Member Posts: 314
    #3
    gabor said:

    Hi Maria,
    So sorry to hear about the irritation with your PICC Line. My husband had an alergic reaction to the dressings used for his PICC line. I'm assuming your PICC line is in your arm with the lumen(s) on the outside of the arm. There are different brands of dressings so ask the nurse to try another brand. Also, the nurse should be making suggestion on what you can do for the rash such as applying an antihistimine cream around the bandage. If you are not satisified with how the nurse is managing your PICC line, contact the home infusion agency and let them know. I don't know your circumstances but a port might be another option if this doesn't work out for you. Hang in there Maria and I'll keep you in my prayers.

    Thanks a lot for the suggestions. And sorry to hear your husband had similar reaction.

    Yes, my PICC is in my right arm with the lumen on the exterior. I'm thinking my hives might actually be irritation to the compression sock that I wear around my arm to cover everything. I'm going to try to wear it less, even though it looks a lot better than the bandage alone with the lumen hanging out!

    The nurse did offer yesterday a different kind of bandage but she said some people actually get blisters from that one, so I opted to stick with the one I had.

    I'm also going to look into the home infusion agency. I've never heard of that.

    I hope your husband is doing well. I'm getting my second chemo treatment this Thursday. Hoping my reactions will stay minimal. So far the PICC line has been the most annoying side effect.

    Maria

Discussion Boards